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The episode today was well-paced and good. The Akdha spell seems to be on-going and well-directed😊 Beautiful episode today too!
HB's exams
Our forum waasis predicted that HB would present all sorts of odd exams and questions to Jodha - it just turned out to be a bog standard viva voce on politics and administration😆
RUQAIYYA-JODHA
A realistically confounding scene this!
Ruqaiyya was being her usual self - taunting Jodha for having stolen what was her right - i.e. HER night with the Shehenshah! During the course of it all, the Mallika-e-khaas was desperate to rub Jodha the wrong way and obviously to find out details about what happened on that toofaani night!
[I know all this sounds very petty to watch today, but this was pretty much how it would have been in a Harem full of women - snippets from books show that many queens who behaved their dignified selves outside the 4 walls of the harem shed such inhibitions when pitted with competitors]
By the way, seems like staying with Jalal for so long has definitely had its side-effects on our Madame Jo. She's definitely showing glimpses of his style of answering - be it her wry manner of answering, be it providing only half the details (while knowing what effect it has on the opponent) or even gloating about her position (i.e. her subtle hold over the Shehenshah that she's not deliberately orchestrating in any way!)
While I didn't know what to make of the first half of Jodha's dialogues (i.e. Shehenshah spent this night with me and that and that and that night too), I was definitely pleased when she elaborated on the actuality a bit more when she let the insecure lady know that 'Shehenshah is a man of his word! Staying with me or being close to me makes no difference...he will not touch me without my consent' She concludes proudly😃
Now, we know that Jodha means no ill towards Ruqaiyya - a fact that was only reiterated during her night-meeting with Shehenshah! She is only showing her opponent that just because Ruqaiyya was the Chief queen, doesn't mean she was any less. However, since Jodha lacks the guile that Ruqaiyya possesses, the former might not be aware of the consequences of her words. It would land her in trouble at the hands of a possessed Ruqaiyya.
JALAL-JODHA
While Jodha's 'put-on' stern refusal to the Shehenshah's proposal appeared hard-hearted - the reason behind her doing so did move me. It is quite evident that she cares for the man now - be it her support for him in Ruq's chamber earlier or the concern she showed Mothi next morning when she listed out the problems he'd already faced during their Amer trip and back!
While her chides to the Shehenshah might have felt harsher than necessary - she did so only because she'd begun understanding and empathizing with the issues the chief queen was having with their budding relationship.
What was even more striking during their meeting was how well Jalal understood the mind-set of his wives. He could instantly gauge that the very Jodha who was cordial during their other recent meetings was back to her somewhat aloof self. He needed no intimation from Jo to tell that Ruqaiyya's sharp tongue must have gotten to her! While he is growing to adore and admire Jodha's company and presence in his life more and more, he hasn't forgotten about the first love of his life either.
Why, he even goes so far as to tell Jodha that 'Your playing games with me does not mean that you shall take Ruqaiyya's place in my life... in fact, no one can ever take her place in my life'
Being an Akdha fan, I could admire this line - purely for the fact that it showed this man as a loyal one!
Thankfully, Jodha is just as understanding as he is when it comes to family! Therefore, while Jodha tries what she can to ensure preservation of those aspects of the Jalal-Ruqaiyya relationship that were there long before she came - Jalal decides to mete her a sweet punishment in keeping with her wishes instead. [All this just so Ruqaiyya can continue engaging in chessboard games with her husband! Ruqs, your insecurities are only getting Jalal and Jodha closer as is the case in many-a-relationship even today!]
For a fun-loving person like Jodha to refuse a bout of games with the king and then to accept a punishment in place of it are gestures that can only be done if a person is inherently good. However, as is the rule of serial world - these small gestures of Jodha will never come to the knowledge of Ruq (not that it'd make much difference to arrogant ruqs if it did anyway!)
Nevertheless, it was a beautiful scene. One more point - apart from Jodha submitting to the punishment by meting a beautiful song without much ado...apart from Jalal being the perfect mesmerized audience to his wife's rendition...the scene that stood out to me was the final compliment he paid her
'Not a queen...but, an Empress of talents' he tells her with a beautiful smile
Jodha's genuinely awestruck expressions on Jalal's words were noteworthy. She sits back agape on her bed- watching him get up and leave. For a moment, it almost felt like she didn't want him to leave - it almost felt like she was about to miss his short-lived company that she'd just had that evening!
It was a pleasant scene and I'm happy they didn't rush with the song!😊
The morning after...
Though this scene didn't leave as much of an impact on me as the prior I thought it deserved a brief mention. For starters, Jalal coming to search for a knife into her chambers like a common man made little directorial sense. No announcement? No servants to search for his possessions? Or did he wander by just to get another glimpse of her?
Though I know it was only friendly-taunt, Jodha asking Shehenshah why he was at her chamber AGAIN didn't sit too well with me.
Thankfully, he did take it sportively (and give it back to her 😆)
'Two knives in a chamber and I suffered no injury - thank the Lord' he says, leaving the tigress irritated!
PRECAP
I for one - am very interested in seeing how this pans out. Not because I care for Ruqaiyya (she cares for none but herself) - instead, it shows me another aspect of Jalal that I haven't seen in a while - that of genuine concern. His behaviour with Ruqaiyya the past couple of days has raised a lot of questions.
How he deals with Ruqs outburst tomorrow shall show us how he manages to compartmentalize and individualize the different women in his life. Never an easy task this!😆
With that I bid adieu for now!
Ciao girls
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